What does an answering service cost?
An answering service picks up your phone when you can't. That's a receptionist, or an AI phone assistant like RingBrio. Here are the prices of three Dutch answering services next to RingBrio's, with a worked example and what each does better.
Prices side by side
| Service | Per month | Per call or minute | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| BizziPhone Lite | Per month: €9.99 | Per call or minute: €2.15 per call; the first 90 seconds are included, then €0.039 per second | Good to know: Receptionists from 08:00 to 18:00; evenings and weekends €15 a month extra. 30 days free, cancel any day. |
| BizziPhone Professional | Per month: €49.99 | Per call or minute: €1.77 per call; the same surcharge after 90 seconds | Good to know: Cheaper than Lite from 105 calls a month. |
| PAsCall Telefoonservice | Per month: €25.95 | Per call or minute: €3.65 per call up to 25 calls, €3.50 from 26 to 50, €3.35 from 51 to 100, €3.25 above that | Good to know: No setup fee. Transfers €1.65 (landline) or €2.05 (mobile), texts €0.35. |
| Antwoordservice Nederland | Per month: From €30.95 | Per call or minute: Call time per minute: around €2.50 at low volume, €1.79 from about 450 minutes | Good to know: Setup from €150. One month's notice, live within 1 to 4 weeks. |
| Antwoordservice Nederland, AI answering service | Per month: €135 (Starter) | Per call or minute: 500 call minutes included; above that €0.40 per minute and €0.40 per message | Good to know: 2 languages, 24 hours a day. Bigger plans €215 to €810 a month. |
| RingBrio | Per month: €89 excl. VAT | Per call or minute: No charge per call or per minute; fair use up to 500 minutes | Good to know: Evenings and weekends too. 7 days free, cancel monthly. |
RingBrio's price excludes VAT. BizziPhone, PAsCall and Antwoordservice Nederland don't say on their tariff pages whether their prices include VAT. Checked on 30 October 2026 on their own sites.
Worked example: 40 calls of 2 minutes
A small business has about 40 calls a month answered on weekdays, 2 minutes each: 80 call minutes. This is what that costs a month at the prices above.
- RingBrioFixed price; 80 of the 500 minutes€89
- Antwoordservice Nederland, AI (Starter)Fixed plan; 80 of the 500 call minutes€135
- BizziPhone Lite€9.99 + 40 × €2.15 + €46.80 surcharge for the seconds over 90€142.79
- PAsCall Telefoonservice€25.95 + 40 × €3.50 (26 to 50 calls)€165.95
- Antwoordservice NederlandTheir own worked example for this volumeAbout €230
With very few calls, a receptionist costs less: up to 36 short calls (up to 90 seconds) a month, BizziPhone Lite is cheaper than RingBrio.
What a receptionist does better
- A person on the line, for callers who'd rather not talk to an AI.
- Transfers during the call. BizziPhone charges €1.25 per attempt, PAsCall €1.65 to a landline and €2.05 to a mobile. RingBrio doesn't transfer (yet).
- Very few calls: up to 36 short calls a month, BizziPhone Lite is cheaper.
- Healthcare practices: RingBrio isn't made for healthcare.
What RingBrio does better
- One fixed price: €89 a month excl. VAT. A busy month costs no more (fair use up to 500 minutes).
- Evenings and weekends too, with no surcharge.
- Books appointments during the call, in the built-in calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook, and texts the caller a confirmation.
- After every call, an email with a summary and the full transcript. Urgent? You get a text too.
- Set it up yourself: you keep your own number and forward it with one code.
Questions about answering services
What does an answering service cost a month?
At BizziPhone, PAsCall and Antwoordservice Nederland you pay a fixed amount a month (€9.99 to €49.99) plus a price per call or per minute. For 40 calls of 2 minutes, their own prices come to between about €143 and €230 a month. RingBrio costs €89 a month excl. VAT, with no charge per call.
Is an answering service the same as a telephone service?
Usually, yes. In Dutch, antwoordservice, telefoonservice and telefoondienst all mean someone else answers your phone in your business name. With an AI phone assistant, an AI does that instead of a receptionist.
Will callers know it's an AI?
Yes. In its first sentence your assistant says it's an AI assistant and that the call is transcribed.
Can RingBrio transfer a caller to me?
Not during the call. Your assistant takes the details and creates an action item for your team, so you call back with the whole story in front of you. When it's urgent, you get a text straight away.
How do my calls reach RingBrio?
You keep your own number and forward it to your RingBrio number, for example for calls you don't pick up within 20 seconds. That's one code on your phone. All codes are in the call forwarding guide.
Can I try it first?
Yes. The first 7 days are free. You enter your card, but nothing is charged during the trial week, and your assistant already answers real calls. Stop within 7 days and you pay nothing. After that €89 a month excl. VAT, cancel monthly.
What fits you?
Do you always want a person on the line, or do callers need to be transferred live? Then choose an answering service with receptionists. Do you mostly miss calls while you work, and want one fixed price with appointments straight in your calendar? Then RingBrio fits.
Compare RingBrio with other AI phone assistants